China's e-commerce sales in 2005 hit a record 553.1 billion yuan (68.72 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 58 percent over 2004, found a study released Sunday by the China Internet Development Research Center (CIDRC) under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Such a momentum is set to continue in 2006, it said.

With a turnover of 13.5 billion yuan (1.68 billion U.S. dollars),triple the volume in 2004, the consumer-to-consumer market has become a new growth point in the country, reported Monday's China Daily.

A CIDRC survey conducted last December among 3,483 netizens in five giant Chinese cities also showed that by the end of 2005, more than 71.3 percent of netizens had shopped online, while the same proportion in the Asia-Pacific region stood at an average of 70 percent.

About 95 percent of the respondents said they were optimistic about the future of online business, according to the study.

Though enjoying more than 60 million online items, about 43 percent of the respondents expressed concerns over the quality of online goods and after sales service, said the study.

(Source: Xinhua)